
Autodesk: Transition to Named Users
Autodesk is retiring serial numbers and has launched new named user subscriptions.
From May 7, 2020, you can trade in your existing network (or standalone) maintenance plan and your multi-user subscriptions for corresponding single user subscriptions, at a cost consistent with what you pay today.
The new plans deliver many business benefits now and in the future, including:
- New ways to optimise your licensing costs by having visibility into your usage data.
- Dedicated access for all employees whenever they need it, wherever they are working – in the office or at home. No more downtime because all of your licenses are in use.
- Ability to tailor your support and learning content to employees based on insights.
- You will no longer have to manage your own network servers or track an anonymous serial number again.
View the full list of 10 reasons behind the change to named users.
Key Facts
01.
Some plans are retiring.
Maintenance plans will retire on May 7, 2021 and cannot be further renewed. Subscriptions with multi-user access will retire on August 7, 2021 and cannot be further renewed. Design & Creation Suite plans have already retired.
02.
We will help you transition to the right new plan.
For customers who own a subscription with multi-user access or maintenance, at your first renewal after May 7, 2020, we will help you transition to a single user subscription through trade-in offers that keep your costs consistent today and predictable to 2028.
03.
Multi-user trade-in.
There are trade-in offers available for customers with multi-user access and maintenance subscriptions, plus additional transition options for customers with Design & Creation Suites. View all trade-in offers below.
04.
Ready to make the change? Next steps.
In order to transition from multi-user subscription or network maintenance to single user subscription at a 2:1 ratio, please contact us and we will provide you with relevant options.
Available Trade-in Offers
- Overview of Offers
- How to Prepare for Trade-in
- For Standalone Maintenance
- For Network Maintenance
- For Multi-User Subscribers
- For Perpetual License (without maintenance)
- For Design & Creation Suites
There are various trade-in offers available at time of renewal. These depend on your existing license type.
Select the tab(s) on the left that applies to you. Need help deciding? Contact us anytime.


For standalone maintenance, at your next renewal before May 7, 2021*, you can trade in one seat for one subscription at a cost consistent with what you pay today*.
- Then, renew at an ongoing discount to 2028**.
- At time of trade-in, choose to upgrade to an industry collection to get a comprehensive selection of tools to help you meet any project challenge— now and in the future.
- At time of trade-in or later, choose to upgrade to a higher plan for more advanced features, such as single sign-on and detailed user reporting.
If you have a network maintenance plan, at your first renewal only, after August 7, 2020, trade in one seat or subscription for two subscriptions (for one named user each) at a cost consistent with what you pay today*.
Subscriptions with network maintenance plans will retire on May 7, 2021 and cannot be further renewed.
At your first renewal only, after August 7, 2020, trade in one seat or subscription for two subscriptions (for one named user each) at a cost consistent with what you pay today*.
Subscriptions with multi-user plans will retire on August 7, 2021 and cannot be further renewed.
If you’re using an older perpetual license, you have the opportunity to save big on a 1-year or 3-year subscription to the same product you’re using now, or a different stand-alone product, including a collection.
Now is a great time for customers to upgrade their perpetual license to a subscription and receive the benefits of subscription. In addition to more value and flexibility than perpetual licenses, customers can save up to 25%* when trading in qualifying perpetual licenses that are not on maintenance plans, for a subscription to the latest Autodesk industry collections or to most individual products—like AutoCAD® including specialized toolsets, AutoCAD LT®, Civil 3D®, Revit®, Inventor®, 3ds Max® and more.
PROMOTION ENDS 23rd October 2020
*Save up to 25% on 3-yr subscriptions
Ready to make the change? Get in Touch
As part of retiring maintenance plans, the last version of the Design & Creation Suites will be released in April 2020 for customers to download, and the last date to renew Suites will be on April 16, 2020.
Customers will not be able to renew Suites after April 16, 2020. To learn more about your options to upgrade to an industry collection through one of the trade-in offers above, contact us today.
Ready? Here is exactly how you need to transition.
About this guide
This guide has been compiled to assist our customers with the technical aspects of the transition and outline key areas of the process.
Download a handy PDF copy of the guide here.
- 1. How to assign single user licenses
- 2. How to reset a multi-user license to single user (Autodesk 2020+ Releases)
- 3. How to reset a multi-user license to single user (Autodesk 2019 & earlier Releases)
- 4. Managing Stricter Security Protocols
- 5. User Sign-in
- Sign-in to your Autodesk account
Open the following link in your web browser: manage.autodesk.com
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- Your Autodesk account
This is your Autodesk account landing page, from here you go to User Management and click By User

- Inviting Users
At this point you can assign users if they have already been added, or if you need to add users, click Invite Users

You will then be able to add users, one at a time, alternatively you can add several users at once by importing an excel spreadsheet *
Once users added, click send invite.

Once the invitation is sent, the user status will show as Pending until the user accepts the invitation.

If the user misplaces the invitation, you can resend it.

Once you have invited/added a user you can now assign license/s to them.
Navigate to the user you would like to assign, available license/s will be shown, select assign the license/s as required

- What the user(s) should do

The user will need to create an Autodesk account, if they don’t already have one, then they can start using the software.
NOTE: the user will need to ensure they connect to the internet at least once every 30 days.
- IF YOUR SOFTWARE STARTS:
Follow this workflow to reset your license type through the License Manager. If your trial license has expired, click Already Have A License at the bottom of the Expired Trial dialog box.
- Start your Autodesk software.
- At the upper-right, click the triangle next to the username.
- Select Manage Licenses.
- In the License Manager dialog box, select Manage License Type. The Let’s Get Started screen appears.
- Choose your license type.
- IF YOUR SOFTWARE DOESN’T START:
Use the Autodesk Licensing Installer Helper tool (AdskLicensingInstHelper).
Before you begin: If you’re signed in to the Autodesk desktop app or Autodesk cloud-based services, sign out.
Then clear the login status by deleting the LoginState.xml file at these locations:
- Windows: %localappdata%\Autodesk\Web Services\LoginState.xml
(Tip: From the Task Manager, select the Details tab. If the AdSSO service is running, click End Task and delete the LoginState.xml file.)
- macOS: ~/Library/Application\ Support/Autodesk/Web\ Services/LoginState.xml
- Linux: ~/.local/share/Autodesk/Web Services/LoginState.xml
- Open a command prompt on Windows (run as administrator) or a terminal in macOS or Linux.
- To change the directory to AdskLicensingInstHelper, run the following commands:
- Windows: cd %CommonProgramFiles(x86)%\Autodesk Shared\AdskLicensing\Current\helper\
- macOS: cd /Library/Application\ Support/Autodesk/AdskLicensing/Current/helper/
- Linux: cd /opt/Autodesk/AdskLicensing/2020/helper/
- In the Command line, run the following:
- Windows: AdskLicensingInstHelper change -pk 2020_product_key -pv 2020.0.0.F -lm “”
- Mac/Linux: sudo AdskLicensingInstHelper change -pk 2020_product_key -pv 2020.0.0.F -lm
- Start your Autodesk 2020 software. On the Let’s Get Started screen, select the appropriate license type.
Note: Here is a list of 2020 product keys.
- Access software with Autodesk ID
Download & Install Access by signing in
Note: You don’t need an activation code if you have a subscription license.
How to activate by signing in:
- Start your software.
- On the Let’s Get Started screen, click Single-user (versions 2019 and later) or Sign-In (versions 2018 and earlier).
- Sign in using your Autodesk ID (the email and password) associated with your Autodesk Account.
CLICK HERE for instructions
If your organisation has Stricter Security Protocols, the following optional items should be reviewed by IT Professionals, where required.
- What are the supported proxy configurations for single-user access license under a Secured Proxy environment:
Proxy Configurations | Support | |||
2014-2016 (*1) | 2017 – (*3) (*5) | |||
Web proxy auto detection (WPAD) | No | Yes (*6) | ||
Proxy auto configuration (PAC) | No | Yes | ||
Proxy server and port specification | Yes (*2) | Yes |
Note:
(*1) 2014 or 2015 products need to apply a hotfix for POODLE SSL v3 vulnerability.
(*2) Authenticated proxy (*3) is not supported.
(*3) The following authentication schemes for proxy are supported from 2017 products.
・Basic
・NTLM (*4)
(*4) Pass-Through authentication is not supported.
(*5) Credential Manager in Windows should be enabled.
(*6) See How to enable automatic proxy detection (WPAD) for Windows.
If you are using HTTPS Inspection, this could break the certificate revocation check. Make sure you disable this feature for the domains*.autodesk.com
See this article for more information
- Are there any third-party application or firewall solutions not compatible with the Single-user subscriptions?
CLICK HERE for instructions
- I am using a Firewall and/or proxy in my organization. Which are the domains/protocols that I need to allow for the Autodesk Single-user Subscription to work properly?
CLICK HERE for instructions
- Which are the minimum open ports and URL settings required for the license service to operate without problems?
These are the domains indicated above as Login, License Entitlement and Third party Certificate download and verification sites to be allowed through the proxy/firewall. Make sure you have verified also the points highlighted under Important Preliminary Checks from the above section.
- Does the user have to be online constantly to use Autodesk Subscription products?
Users are authenticated via a login dialog upon starting an Autodesk product, and should be online at this time. After that, the user needs to connect to the Internet at least once every 30 days to continue using the software.
- What are the specific IP Addresses and the physical locations of the Autodesk servers?
Users should use the DNS names specified above for configuring access on proxy servers, and not IP addresses. The physical locations of the Autodesk servers are not published, and in many cases, servers are redundant and replicated for high availability.
When a user is assigned a license, they will receive an email titled:
[Confirmation + Next Step] You’ve got access
- This email will have a button at the end:

- The user will need to click that to log into/or create (if they don’t already have one) their Autodesk account in order to commence using the assigned license.
Frequently Asked Questions
Need help? Get in touch.
If you require further assistance with assigning users or switching multi-user licenses to single user, please contact us using the form below.
If you need to speak to someone, please call us: 03 8513 3013
Information current as of 22nd September 2020. For the most up to date information, please visit the Autodesk website about the transition to named user plans.
*Current maintenance prices will experience a 20% price increase on renewals after August 7, 2020.
** Actual pricing may vary due to the impacts of currency fluctuations. Pricing commitments apply only to seats moved to subscription from maintenance pursuant to the Move to Subscription offer. This price commitment is subject to product and/or offering availability and does not apply to: new subscriptions purchased by customer; switched subscriptions (i.e., permitted switches from a subscription for one product to a subscription for another product), or substitute or successor subscription products.